The seething but subdued unrest in the Nigeria Customs Service blew out Thursday as five of the six Deputy Comptroller-Generals resigned from the Service en masse.
In a joint letter addressed to the Chairman, Nigeria Customs Service Board, the DCGs said they decided to resign voluntarily having attained the pinnacle of their career.
The five retiring DCGs whose names appeared on the letter are: Atte A.J, Musa T.A, Mera I.M, Nwosu A.C and Adewuyi A.A.
“We the under-listed officers currently on the rank of Deputy Comptroller of Customs met today, 29 October 2015 and unanimously decided to voluntarily retire from the service of Nigeria Customs Service haven (sic) risen to the rank of Deputy Comptroller General.
“We wish to thank the President for giving us the opportunity to serve our great nation, Nigeria,” the letter reads.
Though the reason given for their historic joint voluntary retirement was attainment of the peak of their career, our investigations showed that unrest had been brewing within the top hierarchy of the Service since President Muhammadu Buhari brought a retired Colonel to head the Service upon the voluntary retirement of the erstwhile CG, Inde Dikko.
Colonel Hameed Ali’s (rtd) appointment by Buhari as Customs Comptroller General generated controversy and grumble within the Service and without. While some Nigerians endorsed the action arguing that it will take an outsider to cleanse the corruption inherent in the Service, others said his appointment slaps the faces of the array of senior officers within the Customs who were overlooked and found unworthy by the President. They called it imposition and many predicted it would come to harm the Service.
